Nate “Papa” Scales got his first flight in 1991 on a glider that had 11 cells in Sun Valley, Idaho.  The next day he moved to Utah to learn how to fly and hasn’t looked back since. I’ve never met anyone as passionate as Nate is about flying nylon and string and he’s even more psyched today to go big than ever. We cover a LOT of ground in this hysterical episode. Nate discusses the value of competitions; his only (and very wild) reserve toss; risk and safety; his recent decision to step down to an ENC glider after flying comp gliders for more than 15 years; his “dream” line; learning from failure; and we go way back in time and talk about the days of taking pictures of waypoints before there was GPS; his 2007 X-Alps campaign; all the mentors he’s had along the way, including Robbie Whittall, Honza Rejmanik, Bill Belcourt, Josh Cohn and many others. But we call Nate “Papa” because he’s been a mentor to all of us here in the Wood River Valley and way beyond. There’s a ton to digest in this podcast and Nate’s unique style and delivery will keep you giggling.  Enjoy!

A buck an episode, that’s all we ask.

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Show Notes:

* Nate takes us back to the beginning.  How he learned, flying in his first comps in Telluride, Aspen and around the world

* Can paragliding be safer?  We dive into the incoherent risk and the rewards. Is it worth it?

* Nate talks about his recent decision to step down to an ENC glider, but that he’s still hungrier than ever to go BIG

* Nate’s 2007 X-Alps campaign and nearly getting in a fistfight in the Swiss Alps

* Advice for a 50 hour pilots

* Learning from mistakes and failure

* Comp gliders vs certified gliders. Making the right choice.